It's the 10th of November and the
weather is awesome so what are a bunch of Marines going to do?
Celebrate the Marine Corps Birthday under water. Happy 231st
Marines!!!

30 Sept 06
Maeda Point

What a great day
for a dive, yet only one hard core dive bum managed to get up and meet
me at 0630. I wanted to test my new housing before I put me new camera
in it, so I stuffed it with paper towels to test out its integrity. It
seemed a shame to dive without a camera so I let John use my other
camera. Everything worked out perfectly, we went down to 107 fsw I had
no leaks and John got some great photos.

Rachel, Nobuko and
her sister joined us on our second dive. We went out to the right this
time just to keep it shallow. We found a very curious young adult
batfish and then a very nervous moray eel. John learned a good lesson;
don’t touch a nervous eel’s tail. It shot out of its hiding place and
zoomed right past his head!

Later this weekend
was the 2006 Shisa Dance Festival at the Agena Bullring. This is where
I got the inspiration for the Dive Bum Okinawa’s trademark dive flag a
few years ago.

05 Aug 06 Devils Cove

What an awesome turnout this morning, 12 Dive Bums showed up!!! Once we
wrangled everyone up we caravanned to Devils Cove. Although the winds
were coming out of the East at 10 kts there was a Westerly swell at 2-3
feet. After suiting up we trekked across the reef and plunged into 85f
water. The Vis wasn’t as good as we hoped for, it was around 15-20 and
opened up to 30+ in some spots. Even with the poor visibility we
managed to find the sunken boat on our first dive.

For our second dive
we tried a different entry, instead of hiking over the reef (low tide)
we entered by the Grotto. It was a bit longer on the swim but we
avoided climbing over the reef and surf. We did not manage to make it
to the sunken boat on this dive but we did get some very good macro
photos.

4th of July 96 weekend

The dive God’s were
smiling down on us this 96 weekend!! The weather has not been this nice
for months. The Dive Bums managed a total of 7 dives over the 96, four
dives at Bolo (two from a boat) and three at Maeda Pt. During the
course of the weekend I got some outstanding photos and we discovered a
WWII LVT (landing vehicle tracked). The Bolo Pt. beach
dives…Here we found a very cool eel, actually there were two different
species of eels just two inches apart! Then as we were on our safety
stop a very friendly Lionfish stuck around for a quick photo shoot. Bolo Pt. boat
dives…For the past few years, I’ve heard rumors about a sunken AAV off
Bolo Pt. No one seemed to have any concrete information on its location
and after talking to several people in the dive industry on Okinawa it
seemed that this was going to be a mystery that needed to be solved. We
headed out early on the 4th of July on a small inflatable just north of
Bolo. Once we reached an area that fit the descriptions of the site, we
donned our snorkeling gear and started our search. After only 10
minutes of searching John yelled out, “Is this thing in pieces?” We
found the mystery sunken WWII LVT-2! Although it had been pummeled
by typhoons and salt water for the last 60 years, you could still
recognize some of the parts. The turret shield and some of the track
was still intact. Click here to see additional photo’s.

Maeda Point was
crowded as usual but for good reason, the water was warm and the vis was
good. Our night dive started out as an average dive. But towards the
end of the dive right by the chain, I saw a huge Textile Cone that was
crawling up the reef. As I took its picture my strobes must have
startled something. This tiny little octopus jumped out of a small
crack in the reef next to the cone shell. As I swung my spotting light
around to get a better look at it, there were these small little blue
rings all over it…..WOW…A Blue Ringed Octopus!!! On one
dive I got a photo of two of the most dangerous animals you can find in
the water.

This weekend of
diving is going to be hard to beat….But we’ll try, even if it means we
have to dive more!!

July
01, 2006 Bolo Point

What
an AWESOME dive!!! You know it’s a great day to dive Bolo when the
parking lot looks like Maeda Pt at Golden Week!

When I pulled into
the parking lot of Kadena Marina at 0600 this morning, there were only
four Hard Core Dive Bums ready to hit the water. With the winds out of
the southeast at only 5kts; the five of us decided to head to Cape Zanpa.
The parking lot was empty when we first arrived, but after our second
dive the parking lot was looking like Maeda Point and for good reason.
The water was flat and there was only a slight surface current heading
north. We decided to head south for our first dive but as we descended
the current picked up and reversed, it was now heading south so after an
about face we started our dive. The water was warm and clear
(81f/50+). On the first dive we went deep! We were looking for the
White Tips that hang out under the overhang and swimthroughs…they
weren’t there but we did get some great photos of the sea fans. After a
long…surface interval we stayed a bit shallower. Here we found a very
cool eel, actually there were two different species of eels just two
inches apart! Then as we were on our safety stop a very friendly
Lionfish stuck around for a quick photo shoot.

June 17-18,
2006

Maeda Pt. Dive
and Fathers Day Snorkel

What a great
weekend, I think we can officially say that the rainy season is OVER!!!

Only a few Hard
Core Dive Bums managed to show up at 0600 this morning. To everyone who
did not dive on Saturday…YOU MISSED OUT! We had a great dive, the vis
was at least 40+feet and there was absolutely no surge. We saw tons of
cool stuff. There must have been a Lionfish convention going on
because every time we crossed a finger we found at least one Lionfish
cruz’n around. On our second dive we began by taking some photos of
Darlene’s O/W class and then decided to take off on our own. On our way
in we spotted this tiny gray eel trying to look vicious in all of his
massive 6 inches. On Sunday my girls
gave me one of the best Fathers day presents I could imagine, they took
me snorkeling at Maeda Point. When we arrived the water was smooth as
glass and the sun was shining. We started off by feeding the fish just
past the drop off. After saying our hello’s to Nemo and his friends we
snorkeled to the cave. On our way to the cave one of my daughters
spotted something that she could not identify. This is how it went, she
asked “Daddy what’s that?” and my response was “That’s a piece of
seaweed”…”No Daddy, it’s moving, it’s not seaweed!!!” On closer
inspection, it was a baby cuttlefish! I guess my little marine
biologist knows better than me!!!

June 10-11,
2006

Malibu-Maeda Pt.
boat dive and Maeda Pt. Deep Dive

For a gloomy
non-diving weekend I managed four awesome dives!! On Saturday I was
invited on a boat dive out to the resort buoys between Maeda Point and
Malibu beach. Even with the torrential down pour we managed to launch
the inflatable out of Malibu beach and head out to the buoys. On our
first dive we had the whole reef to ourselves. We saw tons of Anemones
with every type of clownfish in the book! We even saw a lone Sting Ray gliding around the
reef. However after returning to the buoys after our surface interval
and swapping out tanks there were five Japanese resort boats tied up to
all of the buoys. Although we couldn’t get to the exact spot we wanted,
we still managed a great dive were we saw a mating pair of Ardeadoris egretta (the white and
orange Nudibranchs) and a very grumpy looking Scorpion fish. On Sunday I was
invited to dive and ended up signing up for a Deep Dive Certification
Class. On the first dive we dove down to 100 fsw and did a short
navigation course. On the second dive I was able to bring my camera and
boy was I glad I did!! We found two very large Octopi about a foot from
each other. I think love was in the water but unfortunately I think we
ruined the moment. Even with a
terrible weather forecast, you cannot beat the diving in Okinawa!!!

May 25-29, 2006
Dive Bums Gone Wild-Memorial Day Oura Wan!

We’ve been planning
this weekend for the last three months, lots of sun, B-B-Q’s on the
beach, clear water, and lots of diving!! Unfortunately the weather Gods
did not follow our plan. What we got was lots of rain… and more rain.
So much for planning a fun weekend during the rainy season. We did
manage a few B-B-Q’s at the cabins and a few (very few) Hard Core Dive
Bum’s managed to get in three dives (two muck and one boat dive).

Despite the rain
the vis in the bay was relatively good, 20+ feet. The two shore dives
turned out to be two very good muck dives. With lots of sand, eel
grass and occasional balmies to explore we found several cool critters
including several nudibranchs (two that I have never seen before that
were right next to each other), lionfish, and some huge sea stars.

On our last day we
decided to try our luck on a boat dive. Keith rented a John Boat and
three of us headed out to the reef in front of the marker buoys. The
tide was going out so there was a slight current. By the time we all
got in the water we drifted just past the buoys…into 200 feet of water!
We decided to drop down to 80 feet and swim towards the reef. One of
the divers was playing with a new toy (MP3 Player) and decided to go to
100+ feet before joined us at 80 feet. After a short 5 minute swim we
ran right into the wall which went down into the abyss. The vis
was a great 40+ and was teaming with fish and invertebrates.

13 May Pinnacles

What an awesome day for an awesome
dive. Saturday twelve Okinawa Dive Bums met at the marina for a local
boat dive to the Pinnacles. After a short 15 minute ride we were
anchored over a pristine reef just 1000 meters off shore. The top of
the reef was only about 25 feet down and clearly visible. When we
dropped in the water it was a warm 79f, and a bit cloudy. There was a
definite thermocline at about 30 feet. Below the thermocline the temp
dropped to 75f and the vis cleared up. The reef ran for a few hundred
meters and curved to the west. It was virtually untouched by divers and
teaming with tons of fish. I don't think I have ever seen so much live
soft and hard corals on Okinawa before. This site was better than most
of the spots I've seen at the Keramas.

On the second dive we moved about 200
meters to the west to another pristine reef. There was a slight
southern current so the majority of us started off on a northerly
direction. About half way through the dive I spotted a large Octopus
perched on the top of the reef hunting. I was able to get several good
photos of him before he decided that he wanted a bit more privacy.

When we got on the boat we all noticed a
safety sausage about 200 meters to the south of the boat. We got the
boat turned around and brought the last two divers aboard we got the
quote of the day from one of the divers, "why did you move the boat?"

There were lots of cameras on this dive,
check out the photos on the "Guest Photo" page.

07 May
Maeda Point

What an awesome
turnout this morning. Even though we met at 0600 we had 6 Hard Core
Dive Bums show up for our dive. The weather guesser finally got it
right, the winds were out of the SW but only 5 kts. It was near perfect
conditions, Maeda Point was flat as glass, the Japanese vacationers were
still sleeping and the steps were still open for Golden Week.

On our first dive we
decided to head to the south and do a bit of a wall dive. As soon as we
turned left at the steps the resident Batfish looking for a hand out
swarmed us. They continued to follow us throughout the dive along the
wall. On our second dive we went north and stayed a bit shallower. It
was starting to get very crowded; I guess all of the Golden Week
vacationers finally got up. There were even several boats in the area
(snorkeling distance from the steps). Even with the added crowd of
vacationers we all still managed several great photos. But I did learn
a big lesson about my camera. Don’t dive with used batteries, I was
unable to get several pictures of Nudibranchs and fish because my camera
would not turn on!

April
30 Maeda Point

The weather
guessers got it wrong this weekend. Although there was a slight drizzle
Saturday, the water on the west side of the Island was relatively flat.
Sunday turned out to be a great day, lots of sun and NO wind!!! The few
HARDCORE Dive Bum’s that did meet me at Kadena Marina early Sunday
morning got in two awesome dives at Maeda Point. The city government of
Onna has opened up the steps at Maeda Point for Golden Week, and we took
advantage of trying out the new steps. It was nice not having to
balance all of your dive gear and a camera down a small cliff.

On our first dive we
decided to try and find the fish sculpture on the second reef. At the
base of the steps we shot our azimuth and started the long snorkel out.
Once we got about 500m out we dropped onto a reef at 80+ feet that maxed
out at 90+. We never found the fish sculpture but we did find a lot of
very cool Nudibranchs that we have never photographed before. On our
second dive we choose to stay a bit shallower. We headed to the right
side of Maeda towards the cave. Although it was crowed with lots of
divers celebrating Golden Week we found lots of great stuff. Right at
the beginning of the dive we found a small octopus then we found two
eels, lots of clown fish, Nudi’s, Lionfish and two very camouflaged
scorpion fish. One of the scorpion fish was being so still and not
wanting to move from its hiding place that it was letting a sea star
crawl allover it.

April 8-14, 2006

Dive Bums Gone
Wild-Spring Break Okuma!

With the
prospect of a full week of diving I set our sights high for
week at Okuma. However we did not get a break from the
weather. We only managed one dive Saturday night and a very quick
snorkel on Sunday morning before we got rained out for the rest of the
week. It wouldn’t have been too bad except for the strong winds and
lightning! After our night dive we were treated to a fresh fish
dinner courtesy of the owner of the boat who is also a chef at a local Izakaya.

Once back at home
we managed one more dive trip to try and salvage our spring break
diving. We were able to get on a local dive charter Friday night and
dove the Pinnacles and Runway Lights. The conditions weren’t perfect…
actually they were far from perfect. With all of the strong winds we’ve
had this week the seas were about 4-5 feet. We were hoping things would
improve once we got under water…Nope, there was a very strong surge and
the vis was real cloudy. The surge was so strong even the fish were
hunkered down in the coral. We did manage to get a few good photos and
we found a very friendly cuttlefish that stuck around for a bit.

April 1, 2006 Junk Yard

Only a few hard
core Dive Bums made it out this morning. Too bad, because the
conditions were near perfect. With the pressure of a Soccer game at
1000, we all waited until 0615 before we headed off to the Junk Yard.
Once there we quickly suited up and hit the water. Within 5 minutes Rob
spotted a humongous Octopus that we were able to coax out of his den.
The Nudibranchs were out in force again, and love must have been in the
water... we caught two small Pyllidia Varicosa in the act. We also
found: Polyclad flatworm –
orange, ivory and black but no exposed gills; Chromodoris
tinctoria – Rose Colored with white spots; Chromodoris
colemani - orange and blue with a solid black stripe along his back; Jack found a mutant
Pyllidia Varicosa and I found a Juvenile Pinnate batfish hiding under
some soft coral. We managed over an
hour of bottom time and I still made it to the Soccer game. The
Courtney Sharks crushed the Tigers 5 – 2!!!

Kadena Steps
26 March 06

The rain could
not stop the Hard Core Dive Bums from diving this Morning. Despite the foul weather, the winds
were favorable for a dive on the west side of the island. We departed
Kadena Marina around 0630 and headed to Kadena Steps. There was only a
slight surface chop so we decided to suit up and get in the water. This
was another great dive for Nudibranchs. We saw several Notodoris
citrines (the bright yellow ones) and several other cool Nudi’s and a
bright colored flatworm. This is just a small list of the marine worms
we found:

Polyclad flatworm –
orange, blue and black but no exposed gills; Chromodoris annae –
orange and blue with dashed black strip along his back; Chromodoris
colemani - orange and blue with a solid black stripe along his back

Right at the
beginning of the dive we found two large anemones’ with two different
species of anemone fish. On our return leg of the dive, Kate found a
very large and shy Octopus and I found a fairly friendly Cuttlefish.

The humpback whales
were serenading us during the entire dive, to listen in on the whale
song just click on the whale!

Junk Yard
18 March 06

When we met at Kadena Marina it had to be one of the most gloomy,
gray rainy mornings I’ve seen in a while.
But what a great dive it turned out to be. Only three dedicated Dive
Bums braved the gloomy weather to dive this morning.
The dive conditions were awesome, it was high tide and there was barely
a ripple on the water. The rain caused a bit of a halocline but
once we dropped down the vis opened up to 20-30 feet, a little cloudy
but still good!! On this dive we were joined by one of our newest
Dive Bum’s, Rob who we would like to congratulate on the birth of his
daughter last week. When asked how mommy and daughter were doing
(while U/W) he gave us a big smile and OK sign. I don’t remember
seeing so many nudibranchs and flat worms on a single dive before, I
lost count! Below is just a small list of cool Nudis and worms we
found:

On our way to the
surface we found this curious snake, it looked like his head was caught
in a hole and he couldn’t get it out. I hope he had a hold of something
and not the other way around!

This had to be the best weekend for diving this year!!!

The winds were blowing lightly from
the North East on Saturday and from the East on Sunday.

Kouri Island 04 March 06
Thank you Nobuko for setting up
the dive trip to Kouri Island. We all had a great time. This was a
very special dive for my wife (and life long dive partner) and I because
we were celebrating our 13th wedding anniversary and 14th year diving
together. On our first dive we found a gigantic anemone with a pair of
true clownfish. On our second dive we found a pair of very curious
cuttlefish that decided to hang around for a great photo shoot.

Toilet Bowl and Horseshoe 05 March 06A whopping eight Okinawa Dive
Bum’s make it out this morning to enjoy a perfect dive at the Toilet
Bowl. The water was lapping at our feet as we walked to the edge of the
bowl. One quick giant stride and we were in 15 feet of gin clear water,
a little Red Firefish greeted us as we were setting up for our group
photo. After a quick group photo we made right face and headed north.
We found several anemones with tons of anemone fish, a huge triton
trumpet and a spotted eel. Mike got a great shot of a very curious and
friendly sea snake.

To the Dive Bum’s that had to
leave after one dive…YOU MISSED OUT!! The vis and sea life was even
better than the Toilet Bowl (if you could believe that!) Almost
immediately as we swam over the edge of the reef we ran into the largest
school of Moorish Idols I have ever seen. There must have been over 500
Moorish Idols cruz’n the reef. The Moorish Idols must have called all
of the Lionfish and Firefish over for a party because we must have seen
at least a dozen on the wall. We were even lucky enough to be serenaded
by some humpback whales. I got a great 30 second sound clip, once I
learn how to shorten it I will post it.

Kadena Steps 25 Feb 06

Only one diver
braved the wind and rain and met me at Maeda Point this morning. At
0700 this morning it was dark, cold and raining, the wind never shifted.
(It was still blowing from the North East blowing out Maeda Point) So
we decided to head to Kadena Steps. When we got out of our cars we
were shocked to see the difference in conditions, the ocean was flat as
a lake. The water was awesome, the vis was a clear 50+ feet and the
temp was 71f.

We got a great
surprise on this dive, when we were at the edge of the reef we could
hear the Humpback whales singing in the distance. This had to be one of
the most relaxing dives I’ve had in a long time. We got over an hour of
bottom time but it was not enough. I was lost in time, just enjoying
the sites and the sounds of whale songs in the distance. During the
whole dive I only took 20 photos. Although there were plenty of
subjects to photograph, I was caught up in the moment.

Junk Yard 15 Feb 06

It’s a slow day,
there’s no sea condition and you don’t want the same ol’ thing for
lunch, what do you do…You go diving! We hit the Junk yard right before
low tide so we had to walk across the reef. Once we hit the water it
was Gin clear, when the sun broke through the clouds there was at least
70+ feet of visibility. Even the fish must have known it was a good day
to be in the water because we must have seen every fish in my
Indo-Pacific Coral Reef Field Guide! Towards the end of the dive we
found a huge Triton Trumpet, I took a few photos and then, YES we left
it on the reef to gobble up all the Crown of Thorns.

Water Plant
06 Feb 06

It was Super Bowl
Monday (for those who live in Okinawa) and the Cowboys were not playing,
so what do you do? You watch the taped game and take your wife diving!
The weather was fair (East Warning) and the winds out of the South East
at 15 kts we decided to hit the Sea Wall. When we got out of the van at
the Water Plant the wind was blowing but when we checked out the site
there was only a slight chop and no waves. As we were getting into the
water several other divers were arriving, they must have decided to skip
the game too. The water vis was pretty good, 30+ and there wasn’t even
a hint of a surge or current. As soon as we dropped down we ran into a
huge school of ‘Cuda. Then we found a bike at 40 feet and Felicia
decided to try her hand at photography. Good Photo!!

Junk Yard
03 Feb 06

It was one of
those weeks that never seemed to end and the weather just seemed to get
worse as the week progressed. But that wasn’t going to deter us from
making a lunchtime dive! When we reached the Junk Yard the surfers were
out in force trying to catch one of the huge12 inch waves!! The tide
was going out as we made our way across the reef. The vis was only 20
feet but any dive is better than the best day at work! When we surfaced
and ended our dive we noticed that all of the surfers were gone, when we
had to walk 50 meters back across the reef we knew why…LOW TIDE!

The Air Force was
out patrolling the skies, we must have been right in their landing
pattern. The F-15’s kept buzzing us as we were putting our gear away.

Horseshoe
28 January 06

It was still dark
when the four of us met in the parking lot by Malibu Resort. We waited
until first light for other to show but at 0715 the four of us
caravanned out for the Toilet Bowl.

As we hiked down
the path to the Toilet Bowel we could hear the crashing of the waves.
It only took about 3 seconds to decide we would try another site. We
all decided not to make the trek to Motobu so we drove down the way to
check out Horseshoe. The waves were still coming in but they were
angling in, giving us a protected entry. On our first dive we decided
to walk around to the beach entry site. The cove was perfectly calm as
we waded into the water and put on our fins. As we snorkeled across the
reef and left the protection of the cove we ran into 1-2 foot breakers.
They did not pose a problem as we just swam under them to the edge of
the reef. Horseshoe is one of the most dramatic wall dives on Okinawa.
As we went over the edge we dropped into crystal clear water that
drifted off into a deep blue. The wall was teaming with life, we saw
several species of Nudibranchs, over half a dozen anemones with
clownfish, eels, octopus, several lionfish, and the list goes on and
on. On our second dive we decided to climb down to the edge of the
reef and giant stride in. This put us down about a hundred meters north
from our first entry. Same great variety of sea life and JT found a
cool swim through. We will definitely be making more dives here in the
future!

Kadena North-Night
Dive 25 January 06

What a cool dive!!
We actually had a very good turn out for one of our night dives. We had
four divers enter the water and five come up. One of the divers was a
bit late and saw our lights and joined us about 10 minutes into our
dive. Kadena North is usually one of the easier entries, but this dive
started off a little challenging. With only a quarter moon and a very
low tide the entry was anything but easy. John lead us through the maze
of coral and after low crawling about 10 meters we made our way to the
edge of the reef and dropped to about 20 ft of calm, cool (69f) black
ink. The water clarity was outstanding you could see to the limits of
your light which was probably 20+ feet.

It was a target
rich environment for us UW shutterbugs; we were able to get some great
shots of nocturnal critters and all sorts of sleeping fish. I learned a
very valuable lesson last night, do not wake up a sleeping Scrawled
Filefish (especially when he is about two feet long). The fish on the
second photo did not like waking up to my strobes. After about the 5th
photo he charged my light three times (and he hit it hard) then he went
for my crotch. He hit me on my inner thigh and I had to knock him away
to get him to take off. Next time I see one I am going to give him a
wide berth.

Sunabe Seawall
–Water Plant 21 January 06

With strong winds
coming out of the North West and the water temp at a brisk 70f only a
few brave divers made it today. It was still dark when we met on the
sea wall by Café Blue. As we looked out at the dive site there was an
extreme low tide and 1-2 foot seas, so we decided to head down the sea
wall to the Water Plant. Luckily we arrived when we did because right
after we got there several classes arrived and it got crowded real
fast.

We beat all of the
other divers into the water and headed out for a great dive, there was
no surge and the water was fairly clear (20+ ft). This is an under
looked dive site most of the time; it has a very easy entry and a lush
soft coral garden that is teaming with fish. We saw lots of anemones
with clown fish, several species of nudibranchs and on our way back John
found a pod of four Cuttlefish swimming together. Two of them had to
have escaped from some evil science experiment they were humongous!!
They were at least 2-3 feet in length. These had to be the largest
cuttlefish I have ever seen. For those of you who couldn’t make it this
morning you missed a great dive. Hopefully you will be able to join us
on our next one.